Really, hasn't been my experience. Dragging your kite on a self launch has though? Unless you get that roll spot on, the kite will drag along the sand. When I tether the kite hardly moves, unless really strong conditions, where I tend to either get a launch preferably or I will self launch as normal..

In light to meduim conditiions, my kite just rests on its tips ready to go..

carpet hey, novel approach especially if you have an abbrasive coarse sand ...or worse that really fine silty sand from a river or esturay...man that stuff can wear the ktie quick.

I've backed off the teathered launch. Particularily in gusty conditions. Reason being i tore my favourite kite in half teathering. Your right the wear on the leading edge is less. but in a gusty spot if the kite rolles back and loops into the powerzone you can get a whole heap of kite damage.

Good thread with a lot of folks weighing in on launch and land. Always good to talk about these things.

If I am on my own I do the self-rotate launch thing with the exception being that I put my kite right on the edge of the water. I will then walk to where I need to be for the launch which may be in the water and rotate the kite to fill it with air. As soon as I start rotating the kite it often gets pulled out onto the water and I no longer have to worry about dragging it across the sand.

It seems like every time I go to the beach the launch and landing is different. The key is to know a few different techniques and recognize which is the safest for the situation you are launching and landing in. I've given up on landing the kite on the beach a few times and just flagged it out in the water to avoid dealing with the people on the beach. Its easier and safer to dry out a kite you walked in from the water than to mess with folks trying to "help" you land a kite that don't know what they are doing.

OP: Sorry man I don't do the sanded wing tip launch so can't answer your original question about hooked in or not.

Agree with Plummett if it is gusty ( which generally comes with strong winds in my area) yeh tethering can do more damage even if it doesn't do what he said. Shooting forward and back in the window yeh will cause more wear than the rotate self launch

why it is important to maintain contact with a centerline while walking from your kite to your bar during a tethered launch.

that is the most overlooked, and most important aspect, of a tethered launch.

maintain contact with a center line so that if something is happening to your kite (like it is falling over backwards) you can hold the single line and run back towards the bar the 10-20 ft it takes to disable your kite.

the low centerline allows the cleanest disable with the least distance traveled, the high centerline is popular (if it can be reached) because theoretically pressure on it can keep the kite sitting more steady on its wingtip. it is recommended to use the low centerline.

with a Y centerline system vs V: you can still do as described, holding both centerlines (or just the leash line) once you are onto the single line section of the Y. you can expect your kite to fly upwards or across the wind window before disabling tho, so hold on tight.

I find it is helpful to use 2 lines to tether, one is the tether to the CL.The second line holds tension on the lower side of the bar, "steering" the kite down to reduce bouncing or any chance of the kite powering up and crossing the window.Whether this works for you depends on the kite and conditions!

I self launch and self land a lot… When people ask me how to do it I always tell them that it should be avoided and that it is better to ask for help. One of my golden rule still is, stay away from hard objects downwind.

All these videos show launching and landing in pretty mellow conditions. Maybe something to mention is that launching in 15 - 20 Knots is not the same as launching in 30 - 35 knots.And sometimes you launch in mellow winds and have to land in blasting overpowered stuff, so you should have a plan B.

Again, if you can, avoid it. If you gonna learn to do it, do it in a safe area where there is no hard objects downwind and no sharp stuff on the beach to damage your kite. And if you are doing it in a dangerous area always have a plan b if things go pear shaped.

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